Mechanical equipment is often subjected to considerable mechanical stress when operated in environments wherein temperatures are cyclic. In such environments, for example, components that are made from materials that exhibit larger coefficients of thermal expansion change dimensions as a result of temperature fluctuations to a greater degree than other components that are formed from materials exhibiting smaller thermal expansion coefficients. Mechanically coupling components made from materials exhibiting different coefficients of thermal expansion can cause many such components to fail. These disparate changes in dimension can be particularly damaging when the changes are repeated over a period of time.
Seals, such as those utilized in downhole oilfield operations, for example, are particularly susceptible to failure when operated in environments wherein temperatures are cyclic. Components often referred to as “energizers” are used to bias seals against sealing surfaces. The energizers will expand as the temperatures of the environments in which they are operated increase and contract as the temperatures decrease. Often, the mechanical stresses induced in the energizers by repeated changes in temperature result in the energizers being plastically, rather than merely elastically, deformed. As a result, the biasing forces provided by the energizers are decreased, thus compromising the efficiencies of the seals.